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MEMBER DIARY

About that Disability Treaty…

Once Again, GOP on the Defensive

For many Americans who take only a casual interest in national affairs, last week’s rejection of an international treaty on the rights of the disabled was a real head scratcher.

Wisconsin United States Senator Ron Johnson offers his take on the matter, explaining that it would have done little.

In fact, Johnson argues, the treaty is a perfect example of what ails Washington.

Nearly two years ago, I ran for the United States Senate because our nation faced many serious challenges. What I found in Washington was a political establishment more concerned about the politics of re-election than solving real problems. The U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a perfect example of this.

Political demagoguery like “making the rich pay their fair share” will not solve our debt and deficit problems. And legislation with feel-good titles such as “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” “Employee Free Choice Act” and “Paycheck Fairness” do not seriously accomplish their stated objectives. Even though it may be politically expedient to vote for legislation based on a feel-good title, I did not seek public office to take part in misleading political charades.

Johnson further argues that supporting the treaty would give tacit acknowledgement of the United Nation’s moral authority. Something, the Senator says, our nation should not be doing until the UN is reformed.

The United Nations has a long history of corruption, mismanagement and appeasement of regimes that are determined to develop weapons of mass destruction, limit freedom and commit genocide. These are indisputable facts. Before signing on to another U.N.-sponsored treaty, we should examine the failure of that organization to effectively address significant matters of human rights and international security.

The United Nations has repeatedly failed to enforce its own agreements. It has failed to take steps to prevent its own “peacekeepers” from allowing – and sometimes committing – violent crimes such as human trafficking and rape. Our representative to the Human Rights Commission continues to call on the U.N. to take action on female mutilation, protection of minority populations and many other abuses. Yet on many of these issues, the United Nations has done virtually nothing.

In his op-ed Senator Johnson makes some good points. Yet this is just the latest example of the GOP trying to explain itself after the fact.

The GOP leadership in the Senate, not Johnson, should have been out front on this. They should not be leaving it up to a freshman Senator to deliver the message at a point when it becomes a rebuttal to the already established mainstream media narrative.